The Marauders and Lily Read Book 1
by chocoholicbookworm
Summary: Moony, Padfoot, Prongs and Lily find a mysterious book... They read it and.... read the fic to find out!


**A/N: Hey all! I'm writing a fic about the Marauders and Lily reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (I don't have the British version, I doubt there's much difference anyway).**

**I'm just writing this so that I have something to clear my mind while thinking of new chapters for my other story. If you don't like this one, I won't post anymore. I've read many stories like this in and I've always wondered why not many people write these kind of stories. **

**I didn't put Peter 'cause I think he's a good-for-nothing traitor.**

**What month does winter start? I have no idea, 'cause there's no winter here in the Philippines. Does it start on November? It's the last day of November in my story, and it's snowing. Forgive my ignorance, please. I haven't felt snow in my entire life, so forgive me.**

**All the normal parts in the book will be italicized and all the italicized parts of the book will be normal.**

**Thanks for reading, and kindly rr.**

**Kristie**

**OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO**

Chapter 1 – The Boy Who Lived

James Potter, Lily Evans, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were in the Room of Requirement one cold Tuesday night. It was the thirtieth of November, and the four seventh-years were reviewing for Potions. Their Potions master, Professor Grunnion, was awfully biased, and Gryffindors had to work exceptionally well to avoid failing (sounds kinda like Snape, doesn't he?).

Normally, the three boys would be with Peter Pettigrew, tutoring him. The four of them called themselves the Marauders, and they had special nicknames, which only they knew about. Lily Evans did not enjoy the company of these three boys. It was her misfortune that James Potter was her Potions partner, and they had to work together. What was misfortune for Lily, however, was bliss for James. He loved Lily, though he had a horrible way of showing it.

Remus and Sirius were Potions partners, while Peter was partnered with… (drum roll please) Severus Snape! (girl shrieks with pain and passes out when name is mentioned.) In Lily's opinion, he was the only one less lucky than her, but she was sure that if James Potter did something bad to her, she would rather take Snape, greasy-haired and all.

In fact, the reason why she agreed to got to the Room of Requirement was the fact that Professor Grunnion had enough influence on the school to take away James and Lily's Head Boy and Head Girl badges. Lily didn't mind James losing his badge, but she didn't want hers to be taken.

They were doing the Draught of Past Memories, whatever that was, and Lily was now shrieking at James for having put the wrong amount of ingredients.

"It says TWO teaspoons of hellebore, Potter! Not THREE teaspoons!"

"How could one teaspoon hurt? We'll just have to add a little bit more of everything else," was James' reply, which made Lily on the verge of another explosion. Remus had enough of her explosions. She spent only a quarter of an hour with them and already had literally thirty-three explosions. To avoid a thirty-fourth, he decided to speak.

"What's wrong, Prongs? Usually you're good at Potions."

Sirius Black, however, did not give the appropriate comment. What he said next made Lily furious, James annoyed, and Remus irritated.

"Moony, try to understand. How can you put the right amount of hellebore if the person you've been madly in love with since the third year is sitting right next to you, breathing?"

To prevent a Remus/Lily explosion, James asked a stupid question.

"Breathing?"

"Well, she's obviously breathing, or else I'd be very afraid for you. You'd have a corpse right next to you if she wasn't breathing."

"Well, it's rather obvious that she was breathing! I know you meant _something else!_"

"It was an innocent statement!"

"STOP IT BOTH OF YOU! I think we all know I'm alive, thanks very much! This is all you fault, Potter!"

"_My_ fault? How is it _my_ fault!"

"Well, you asked Sirius about the whole breathing thing!"

"That's 'cause I had no idea what he meant!"

"I think it was rather obvious you idiot!"

"Well I'm sorry for being so ignorant, then. But it's Sirius' fault!"

"And how, may I ask, is it Sirius' fault?"

"Because he started the whole breathing thing! It's already second nature to you, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"Blaming me! Just because you think I'm an arrogant bullying toerag, who's bossy and insists on getting his way, hexes everyone he sees and is the biggest prankster this side of Scotland, it doesn't mean I'm responsible for everything that goes wrong! For Merlin's sake, Evans, can't you see I'm trying to change for _you?_ I seriously _am_ trying my best, but every time I do something, you insist on finding something wrong with it! It would be easier not to even _try_ changing and just living life the way I used to, but blimey, Evans, I'm changing because of you."

Nobody spoke at the end of this crazy outburst. Not even Lily, who looked flattered. Incredulous and irritated, yes, but flattered nonetheless. In the end, it was Sirius who spoke first and who provided comic relief.

"That was beautiful!" he said in a crazy, high-pitched voice. "My little Jamesie is growing up! Oh Merlin! Moony, are you getting this all on tape?"

Remus feigned using a video camera (they all took Muggle studies, so they obviously knew what a video camera was) and pretended to focus it on James. Sirius changed his voice from high-pitched and girly to dashing and newscaster-like.

"So, Mr. Potter, what's it like to have finally grown up?" He spoke into an invisible microphone

"It's alright, I guess."

"How do you tolerate comments that it's because of Lily that you're changing? How do you bear with the fact that your dashing and good-looking best friend will always be more dashing and good-looking than you ever will be?"

"Who? Moony? It's alright, I guess."

"No, I meant Sirius Black, dolt."

"I don't know a Sirius Black. Well, I don't know a dashing and good-looking one, anyway."

By now, Lily and Remus were laughing. Remus was quite a sight because he was laughing his head off, yet he somehow remembered to "hold" the imaginary video camera.

After a few minutes, everyone did their Potions work in good humor. James even agreed to redo the potion and add the right amount of hellebore. It was beginning to get cold in the Room of Requirement.

"Here, take my cloak," James told Lily.

"No, it's alright."

"I insist. I don't want you to catch a cold."

Lily reluctantly took the cloak. James, however, seemed to have lost his mind. He was talking to their potion.

"Take me someplace warm."

"I thought you liked the winter?"

"Not really. It's hard to play Quidditch in a blizzard. Please take me someplace warm you stupid potion!"

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"What? Do you expect those mad genie things Muggles have to just pop out of the cauldron?"

"No, but Professor said something about why working in silence is important… I think words can interfere with the potion brewing…"

James stopped talking to the potion. He shivered and felt cold, but he didn't ask for his cloak back.

"Do you reckon it's gonna be this cold when our kids are here in Hogwarts?"

Lily automatically looked at him with a testy expression. "What do you mean _our_ kids?"

"Well, one fine day, we'll go out, get married, have kids, have jobs at the ministry, and all that jazz."

Lily snorted. "You wish, Potter."

"I've got a name, you know. It's _James._"

Lily rolled her eyes. "Fine _James._ But I have a name too. It's Lily."

"Ah. The most beautiful sound I ever heard."

"What is?"

"Lily. Anyway, what do you think about what I said about us having kids?"

"I think it's highly unlikely."

"Well, I'll bet you ten galleons that we'll get married."

"Will you be able to remember that bet by the time I'm married to someone who isn't you?"

"Oh, I'll remember it alright. When we get married, you'll pay me and feel really foolish about it."

"Whatever, James. Give me the ladle, it's my turn to stir the potion."

"But I want to stir it!"

"Honestly, James, you are becoming extremely childish about this!"

"But I want – "

"Give it to me before it sp – "

Too late. It splattered all over a bookcase. There was a flash of white light, and the books were drenched. Remus went near the bookcase and saw that the draught that James and Lily were otherwise concocting perfectly did not drench one book.

"Look guys. Isn't this weird? It's only this one that isn't drenched."

James, Lily and Sirius went near the book and Remus read aloud the title.

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Everyone looked shocked when the surname Potter was there. Lily seemed more shocked, however.

"Guys, look at the picture on the cover!"

When she said this, the others looked at the picture and gasped. The boy was on a broomstick, trying to catch a snitch. He looked exactly like James, except for a scar on his forehead, which was shaped like a lightning bolt.

"Prongs, is this guy related to you?" asked Sirius.

"Nope, I don't know anyone in my family named Harry. Do you know a Harry Potter, Moony?"

"No, I don't. This guy looks awfully like you, though." Remus furrowed his brow before turning to Lily. "Do you know anyone named Harry Potter, Lily?"

"Nope. I know a Harry Evans, though. That's my father's name."

When Lily said this, James and Sirius exchanged excited looks. The other two, however, just furrowed their brows in concentration. After what seemed like hours of silence (when in truth it was only three minutes), Sirius finally spoke.

"Let's read it!"

James reached for the book and Lily did too. Lily ended up getting James' hand instead of the book. James looked pleased, while Lily looked embarrassed.

"I don't think we should read it. What if it contains stuff we don't want to hear?" Remus said.

Nobody seemed to listen to him. They (including Lily) were looking at the book with hungry eyes. Remus sighed and realized that if he couldn't beat them, he might as well join them.

"Alright, alright. But if we're reading it, I'm narrating."

Everyone seemed to agree, and he went to the first page, skipping the table of contents.

"_Chapter One – The Boy Who Lived."_

Remus took a deep breath, then began to read.

"_Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much."_

"They sound abnormal to me, if this is the first bit of information we learn about them," Lily said.

"_They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense."_

"They sound _boring,_" said James.

"They're Muggles. Boring Muggles," Sirius said, pretending to yawn.

"There's nothing wrong with normal Muggles, Sirius. It's just the boring ones that have something wrong with them," Lily said defensively. Remus cleared his throat, asking if he could continue, and everyone nodded.

"_Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills."_

"You know, I never really understood why Muggles like to bore holes into their walls," Sirius said.

"Sirius, shut up! I'd like to finish this before our hair turns gray, thank you very much," Remus snapped.

"Your hair is already gray!"

"Well, before the rest of it turns gray, anyway."

"Okay, don't get all twitchy. It's not full moon or anything."

James and Remus gave Sirius a shut-up-or-else look while Lily looked curious, but let what Sirius said pass. Remus began to read again.

"_He was a big beefy man with hardly any neck, although he had a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors."_

"They sound awfully like my sister Petunia and her boyfriend Vernon."

When Lily said this, Sirius and James exchanged looks yet again. Remus noticed this and shook his head, clucked his tongue and continued to read.

"_The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley – "_

"DUDLEY? WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND CALLS THEIR SON DUDLEY!" Sirius roared.

Everyone else was roaring with laughter. Remus covered his head with the book while James was on all fours, unable to control himself. Lily was wiping tears of laughter with the sleeve of James' cloak. When all this subsided, Remus continued to read.

"_The Dursleys had a small son named Dudley, and in their opinion, there was no finer boy anywhere."_

"Well I suppose all parents think that way about their children," Lily said thoughtfully.

"My parents don't. They disowned me," said Sirius bitterly.

"Well, look at the bright side, mate. At least your parents love you more than these Dursley people love their son."

When James said this, everyone looked at him curiously.

"They do? Why?"

"Because," he began in a maddeningly patient air, "if you _really_ love your son, you wouldn't name him Dudley would you?"

"You have a point there, Prongs," said Remus. Sirius chuckled and Lily rolled her eyes.

"_The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters – "_

"Hey! What's wrong with us Potters?" James said indignantly while Sirius snickered.

"You want a list, James?" Lily asked in a very artificially sweet tone.

"No thank you, Lily," James replied, mimicking the tone of voice Lily used.

"_Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister,"_

"Gosh, James, you actually got someone to marry you! Who's the unfortunate girl?" Lily said.

"The ten-galleon bet is still on, Lily," James said, a mischievous gleam in his eyes. He looked at Sirius and they now both had the same mischievous gleam. Remus smiled wryly and proceeded with the story.

"_Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister, but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister, because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish as it was possible to be."_

"I have the exact same relationship with my sister," Lily said.

James and Sirius exchanged mad looks before James asked, "What was that last line?"

"Her sister and her good-for-nothing husband were as unDursleyish – "

"UnDursleyish?"

"That's what it says."

"Is there even such a word?"

"Beats me."

"Anyway, please continue. This book might just earn me ten galleons."

"Yes, Remus, do continue. It might reveal the fact that James is delusional and that _I_ will be winning that ten galleons."

Remus rolled his eyes then continued with his narrating of the story.

"_The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street. The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never seen him. This boy was another reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that._ Merlin save us all, James has reproduced!" Remus said at the end of what he just read.

"And _what,_" James began testily, "is wrong with that?"

"Nothing, mate," Sirius said, trying to keep a straight face on, but failing.

The only person besides James who wasn't fighting the mad desire to burst out laughing was Lily. She was obviously disgusted with the boys' behavior, but sighed and let it pass. When Remus and Sirius recovered, Remus continued to read the book.

"_When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts,"_

"But I thought the story began before that!" Sirius said, confused.

Both Lily and James rolled their eyes and yelled, "SHUT UP!"

"See! They're acting married already!" When Sirius said this, Lily and James flung pillows at him.

Remus snickered, then continued, _"When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,"_

"Wow. He sounds just like his tie. Boring," Lily said.

"He didn't even bother to get a more interesting one. He _had_ to get the most boring," said Sirius.

"_And Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair."_

"This kid sounds brattier and brattier by the moment," James said, and the other three agreed.

"_None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window."_

"What's so wrong with that? Owls fly past windows around here all the time," Sirius said.

"True, but presuming that these people _are_ Muggles, then they wouldn't be that accustomed to seeing owls," Remus said.

"You know Moony, your manner of speaking becomes more pretentious by the day," said Sirius.

Remus said nothing. He just rolled his eyes before proceeding with the rest of the chapter. _"At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley goodbye but missed, because Dudley was now throwing a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls."_

"Brat," all four said.

""_Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into the car and backed out of number four's drive. It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar – a cat reading a map."_

"Cats read maps here all the time!"

"SHUT UP SIRIUS!"

"_For a second, Mr. Dursley did not realize what he had seen – then he jerked his head to look again. There was a tabby cat on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light. Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive – no, _looking_ at the sign; cats couldn't read maps _or_ signs."_

"This cat sounds an awful lot like McGonagall," said Sirius.

"If that's McGonagall, it's not a good sign," Lily said grimly.

"Why?" asked Remus.

"Well, these otherwise normal Muggles are noticing things that are abnormal to them. If McGonagall is on a Muggle suburb as an Animagus, then there must be a good reason because she's risking breaking the International Statute of Secrecy."

"Maybe it's not her. There are many cats on Muggle suburbs aren't there?" asked James.

"I suppose it is a normal cat. Maybe it isn't even of relevance. It's probably just a minor detail that we should just brush off."

Remus continued reading, _"Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove towards town, he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day. But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual traffic jam, he couldn't help but noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks."_

"What's so wrong about wearing cloaks?" Sirius asked defensively.

"Uh-oh. I think this guy's going to find something out about our world," Lily said grimly.

"Continue, Moony," James implored.

"_Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes – the getups you saw on young people!"_

"But old people wear cloaks too!"

"_He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdoes standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak."_

"Ha! I told you old people also wear cloaks!" Sirius said.

"Why don't these Wizards even dress in Muggle clothing if they're going to meet in places where there are swarms of Muggles?" said Remus.

"This doesn't sound good," said Lily. She looked at James who was staring dreamily into space. "What's wrong with you?"

"The man was wearing an emerald-green cloak," James said dreamily.

"And why, may I ask, are you acting all dreamy about it?" she asked, confused.

"Let's just say that Prongs happens to _love_ the color emerald-green," Sirius said, exchanging an all-knowing look with Remus.

"_But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt – these people were obviously collecting for something… yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills. Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. _He_ didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly owl-free morning. He yelled a five different people. He made several telephone calls and shouted a bit more."_

"This guy seems to like shouting a lot."

"_He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery. He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin."_

"Of course you wouldn't you dolt!"

"_It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying. "The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard – " " – yes, their son, Harry – ""_

"What about the Potters and their son Harry?" asked James excitedly.

"Is a Sirius Black mentioned there?" said Sirius.

"Black, you are sometimes too self-centered," Lily said.

"You know, I have a name too, you know. Sirius."

"Fine. Remus, continue."

"_Mr. Dursley stopped dead. Fear flooded him."_

"Wait a minute! How can fear flood him if he already stopped dead?" Sirius asked.

"IT'S A FIGURE OF SPEECH, YOU BLOCKHEAD!" the other three yelled.

"_He looked back at the whispers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it. He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking… no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name."_

"It is when you're talking about wizards."

"_He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew _was_ called Harry. He'd never even seen the boy."_

"That's awful!" exclaimed Lily. "Imagine never seeing your only nephew!"

"Yeah… especially when that kid is yours, Lily."

To avoid Lily taking the book out of his arms and chucking it at James, Remus continued to read.

"_It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister."_

"I can understand this Mrs. Dursley person," Lily said, almost sympathetically.

Sirius and James exchanged looks, and to avoid himself from doing the same, Remus continued to read.

"_He didn't blame her – if _he'd_ had a sister like that… but all the same, those people in cloaks…"_

He paused, took a deep breath, then continued.

"_He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five 'o clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door. "Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at almost being knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating this happy, happy day! ""_

"You-Know-Who? Blimey, you don't mean Voldemort?" James said.

"He must have been really powerful if all of Wizardkind is celebrating the fact that he's gone," Lily said.

"So I bet he really _did_ carry out his plan and became more powerful than Grindelwald," said James.

"I wonder, who made him disappear?" said Lily.

"Bet you a galleon it was Dumbledore who vanquished him," said Sirius.

"I bet you it's this Harry Potter guy," said Remus. It was a deal. They shook on it.

"_And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off. Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was. He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things,"_

"I doubt it, I don't think he approves of imagination."

"_Which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination."_

"I was right!"

"_As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw – and it didn't improve his mood – was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on the garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes."_

"McGonagall!"

""_Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly. The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look."_

"McGonagall alright!"

"_Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to put himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife. Mr. Dursley had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problem with her daughter and how Dudley learned a new word (Won't!)."_

"Brat."

"_Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news: "And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?" "Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain that I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people are have been celebrating Bonfire Night early – it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight." Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…"_

Remus read the rest of the page silently before turning to Lily. "Er, Lily?"

"Yes?"

"Erm, what did you say your sister's name was again?"

"Petunia… why?"

"Uhmmm… Mrs. Dursley's first name."

"What about it?"

"It's Petunia."

Everyone was shocked at this piece of information. Lily looked speechless, while James and Sirius had mad glints in their eyes. Remus looked at everyone, unable to say anything else. Lily was first to recover.

"Well, it must be some other Petunia, then."

"Oh come on, Lily! Petunia is a very unusual name!" James said.

"You owe Prongs ten galleons, Lily!" said Sirius.

"I won't believe it until I hear my name in the book," Lily said.

"_Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er – Petunia, dear – you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?" As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister. "No," she said sharply. "Why?" "Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls… shooting stars… and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…" "_So?_" snapped Mrs. Dursley. "Well, I just thought… maybe… it was something to do with… you know… _her_ crowd."_

"If you mean the Wizarding world, why don't you just say so?" Lily said angrily.

"Uh, Lily?"

"Hmmm?"

"You're kinda admitting that you're related to these Dursleys," said Remus.

"It just sounds exactly like Petunia! Perhaps this is a different Potter."

"Whatever you say, Lily," James sang.

"_Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips. Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son – he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?" "I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly. "What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?" "Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me.""_

"Well, we weren't asking!" said Lily hotly.

"And Harry's a better name than _Dudley_!" James bellowed at the book.

"They're getting scary," said Sirius under his breath to Remus.

""_Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree." He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something. Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did… if it got out that they were related to a pair of – well, he didn't think he could bear it."_

"A pair of what? Spit it out, Dursley!" growled Lily.

"_The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters _were_ involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley. The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought of them and their kind…"_

"What do they think, then?" James said angrily.

"That we're freaks, most probably," Lily said.

"_He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on – he yawned and turned over – it couldn't affect _them_… How very wrong he was. Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight when the cat moved at all. A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground."_

"That's probably what he did."

"_The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed. Nothing like this man had ever been seen in Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken twice."_

"Dumbledore!"

"_This man's name was Albus Dumbledore."_

"How clever of you, but we figured that out _ages_ ago."

"_Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome. He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known.""_

"Okay, I am _so_ sure that that cat is McGonagall."

"_He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again – the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left in the street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him. If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it. "Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall.""_

"Ha! I was right!"

"_He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled. "How did you know it was me?" she asked."_

"Well, duh! I doubt there are other cats that sit that stiffly."

""_My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly.""_

"I was right again!"

""_You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall. "All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here." Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily. "Oh yes, everybody's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no – even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls…shooting stars…. Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent – I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense.""_

"Still a killjoy, isn't she?"

""_You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years." "I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors." She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really _has_ gone, Dumbledore?" It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?" "A_ what?_" "A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of." "No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops. "As I say, even if You-Know-Who _has_ gone – " "My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense – for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: _Voldemort._" Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name." "I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know-oh, all right, _Voldemort_ was frightened of." "You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have." "Only because you're too – well – _noble_ to use them." "It's lucky it's dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."_

"Dumbledore's still the ladies' man, eh?"

"_Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the _rumors _that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?" It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer. "What they're _saying,_" she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are – "_

"YES!"

"NO!"

James and Sirius were doing some sort of a "victory dance," while Lily's face was in her hands.

"We're going to get married!" said James.

"And I'll be your best man!" said Sirius.

"And Harry's godfather!"

"Yes! We'll teach the kid all we know!"

"He'll be a junior Marauder!"

"Not while he's under my watch!" said Lily.

"Admitting that Harry's our kid now, are you, Lily?

"_How_ did this happen!"

"Couldn't resist me, could you, Evans?"

"Ugh! Shut up Potter!"

"Hey, since when are both of you back on a last-name basis?"

"SINCE NOW!"

"Uh, guys," said Remus, who was the only one who was not hysterical. In fact, he looked as though someone just died. "There's something else."

The other three looked at Remus as he continued reading.

"_The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are – are – that they're – _dead._"_

This wiped the smiles off of James and Sirius' faces. Lily put her face in her hands, then looked at Remus.

"_No,_" she croaked. "No…"

"I don't think I want you to continue reading this book, Moony," James said.

"No, James. He should. We should find out – " Lily began, but James cut her off.

"I don't want to hear about my death, and the death of the person I love most," he said fiercely.

"But we're not even sure if this book is real!"

"It has Dumbledore in it. It has your sister in it. How can someone who's supposedly writing fiction perfectly depict your sister's horrible attitude?"

"But James," Lily began, but James cut her off, his voice gentle and passionate at the same time.

"I also don't want to continue reading it because it's making you sad. I don't want to see you cry."

Lily did not know how to react to what James just said. He thought of her death filled her mind that she wasn't able to comprehend the fact that she was going to marry this person seated in front of her. She noticed how much he had changed, and how he was changing for her. His hazel eyes were both misty and aggressive at the same time. Remus was the one who broke the silence.

"James, let's read at least until this chapter ends. I think Lily can cope with that."

Lily nodded. "I think I'll be able to."

"There are only six pages left to read, Prongs," said Sirius, leafing through the book.

"Alright. But I want Lily next to me."

"Why?"

"So you can lean on me when you need to cry."

"_Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped. "Lily and James… I can't believe it… I didn't want to believe it… Oh, Albus…" Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know… I know…" he said heavily. Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying that he tried to kill the Potters' son, Harry. But – he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke – and that's why he's gone." Dumbledore nodded glumly. "It's – it's _true?_" faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done… all the people he's killed… he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding… of all the things to stop him… but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?" "We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know." Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?" "Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me _why_ you're here, of all places?" "I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now.""_

"NO WAY IS MY SON GOING TO LIVE WITH MY WRETCHED SISTER AND HER GOOD-FOR-NOTHING HUSBAND! IF YOU GIVE HIM TO THEM, I SWEAR I WILL RIP THAT SILVER BEARD OFF OF YOUR CHIN!" Lily bellowed, and the boys were quiet. Shocked and quiet. None of them ever saw Lily act this way – not even toward James when he hexed Snape.

"Lils, I know it's gonna be hard if Harry lives with your sister, but maybe Dumbledore has a really good reason for this. It's gonna be hard for me, too, but we're dead, so there's nothing we can do," said James. Lily put her face in her hands. She began to sob quietly, and James took her in his arms.

"Continue reading, Remus," Lily said, her voice muffled.

""_You don't mean – you _can't_ mean the people who live _here?_" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore – you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son – I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"_

"At least McGonagall has a sensible way of thinking!"

""_It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter.""_

"A _letter?_ Dumbledore's lost it!"

""_A letter?""_

"Exactly our sentiments, Professor."

""_A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous – a legend – I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter day in the future – there will be books written about Harry – every child in our world will know his name!" "Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?" Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes – yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it. "Hagrid's bringing him." "You think it – _wise_ – to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?" "I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore. "I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to – what was that?" A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky – and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them."_

"Cool! A flying motorcycle! I want one!"

"_If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing compared to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so _wild_ – tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their boots were like baby dolphins."_

"Hagrid!"

"_In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets. "Hagrid," said Dumbledore, looking relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?" "Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke." _Remus smiled a wry smile then continued._ ""Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir.""_

"So I _did_ get a flying motorcycle!"

""_No problems, were there?" "No, sir – house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we were flyin' over Bristol." Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning. "Is that where ?" whispered Professor McGonagall. "Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever." "Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?""_

"Bet you that even if he could, he wouldn't," said James.

"Why?" asked Lily.

"Last year, after hexing Snivellus that gave him a scar, I was sent to his office. I asked Dumbledore if he could remove it, then he started this thing about 'scars being useful.' Anyway, he apparently has this scar that looks just like the London underground."

"How'd he get it?"

"It wasn't so much of a pleasant story that I'd be willing to repeat it."

""_Even if I could I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London underground. Well – give him here, Hagrid – we'd better get this over with." Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house. "Could I – could I say goodbye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog. "Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!" "S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it – Lily an' James dead – an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles – " "Yes, yes, it's all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two. For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out. "Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We have no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations." "Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'll be takin' Sirius back his bike back. G'night, Professor McGonagall – Professor Dumbledore, sir." Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself on the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night. "I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply."_

"Nice reply, Professor."

"_Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four. "Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone. A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley…. He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in very hushed voices: "To Harry Potter – the boy who lived!""_

"And that's where the chapter ends," said Remus.

"Are you guys up to reading more?" asked Sirius.

"Yes, but not now. Definitely not know. My mind has had too much information to cope with," said James.

"Yes… Maybe we can continue tomorrow or the day after," Lily said.

So all four teens walked out of the Room of Requirement, Remus clutching the book. They all felt older than they had before they read the book. What started out as a mere study group resulted in a revelation of what would soon be happening.


End file.
